Cuomo Plans To Bypass Convention

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Published: May 22, 2002

With H. Carl McCall rolling up solid support among New York Democratic Party leaders in his bid for the gubernatorial nomination, Andrew M. Cuomo will bypass the Democratic State Convention that opens this afternoon, and will instead focus on winning the gubernatorial primary in the fall, Democratic officials said last night.

Mr. Cuomo is expected to announce his move -- which would roil what had been shaping up as a sleepy quadrennial meeting of the state party -- at a rally he has called for noon a block away from the Midtown hotel where Democrats began gathering last night. In the process, Mr. Cuomo will seek to portray himself as an outsider running against an entrenched political machine, echoing a theme his father, Mario M. Cuomo, struck at another Democratic convention 20 years ago, Democrats said.

The delegates at the convention are scheduled to choose between Mr. McCall and Mr. Cuomo tomorrow. But the delegate vote has no real political meaning: the Democratic opponent to Gov. George E. Pataki will be chosen by voters in the primary on Sept. 10. And, as Mr. Cuomo's aides have been noting in recent days, the candidate chosen by Democratic convention delegates almost invariably loses the primary itself.

Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference earlier yesterday that he was confident that he could win the 25 percent of the delegate vote needed to ensure himself a place on the primary ballot with Mr. McCall, who clearly has more support among party leaders. However, Mr. Cuomo is expected to say today that he will instead take the alternate route for winning a spot on the ballot: collecting signatures from enrolled Democrats across the state.

Mr. Cuomo's move to bypass the Democratic State Committee meeting is unconventional and certainly risky. But it could serve a number of purposes for the candidate in his contest against Mr. McCall.

For one thing, it could upset any attempt by Mr. McCall, the state comptroller, to turn the convention into a two-day rally of support. In addition, it could allow Mr. Cuomo, notwithstanding his 25-year association with the state and national Democratic Party, to try again to present himself as an outsider -- a recurrent theme of his campaign.

Finally, the process of gathering signatures, though avoided normally by candidates as expensive and time-consuming, could help him assemble a political organization that he could use later to help get out the vote in the primary. To win a spot on the ballot, Mr. Cuomo must gather as many as 15,000 signatures.

Mr. Cuomo's move comes at the start of a convention that he entered at a clear disadvantage.

Mr. McCall enjoys extensive support among Democratic officials in New York, and there is no doubt that he will easily defeat Mr. Cuomo in the vote. While it may not have any practical effect, that is not the kind of event a candidate welcomes, particularly this early in a campaign. And in this case, it seems likely to be portrayed by Mr. McCall as the latest example of animosity toward Mr. Cuomo among Democrats.

There seems little doubt that Mr. Cuomo will at least cross the 25 percent threshold and get on the ballot. But some Democrats suggested that supporters of Mr. McCall -- in particular, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver -- would seek to make it appear as if Mr. McCall had to give Mr. Cuomo votes to break the barrier.

Mr. Silver appeared to set the table for such a move last week, when he announced that he was prepared to divert McCall delegates to Mr. Cuomo to make sure he won his 25 percent.

And several of Mr. McCall's advisers said they did not want to deprive Mr. Cuomo of the 25 percent, because they were concerned that he would turn that against them by presenting himself as a reformer running against the party establishment.

Mr. Cuomo's decision is certainly not without risks. He could well be portrayed as bolting from the convention for self-serving reasons, out of fear that he would be embarrassed by Mr. McCall. In addition, if he wins the nomination in the September primary, Mr. Cuomo will have to confront the burden of reconciling with Democratic Party leaders -- some of whom have already described him as arrogant -- who might be enraged by this kind of move.

Democrats were unable yesterday to recall any precedent for a candidate bypassing a convention. However, it is in some ways reminiscent of what Mr. Cuomo's father did in 1982, when he first ran for governor.

At that convention, in Syracuse, the elder Mr. Cuomo lost to Edward I. Koch, but then proceeded immediately to campaign as the candidate running against the Democratic Party bosses.